378 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
eagle; and that was the solitary occasion on which I 
ever saw one here, The bird remained in sight some 
time, and finally left, going south-east towards the 
sun. 
On the afternoon of the day before the beginning 
of the frost the wind gradually sinks, and the dead 
leaves which have been blown to and fro settle in 
corners and sheltered places. As the sun sets all is 
still, and there is asense of freshness inthe air. Then 
the logs of wood thrown on the fire burn bright and 
clear—the surface of a burning log breaks up into | || 
small irregular squares; and the old folk shake their 
heads and say, ‘It will freeze.’ As the evening 
advances the hoofs of horses passing by on the road 
give out a sharp sound—a sign that the mud is 
rapidly hardening. The grass crunches under foot, 
and in the morning the elms are white with rime; 
icicles hang from the thatch, and the ponds are frozen. 
But there is nothing so uncertain as frost: it may 
thaw, and even rain, within a few hours; and, on the 
other hand, even after raining in the afternoon, it may 
clear up about midnight, and next morning the ice 
will be a quarter of an inch thick. Sometimes it will 
begin in so faint-hearted a fashion that the ground in 
the centre of the fields is still soft, and will ‘ poach’ 
under the hoofs of cattle, while by the hedge it is hard. 
But by slow degrees the cold increases, and ice begins 
to form. Again, it will freeze for a week and yet you 
will find very little ice, because all the while there 
